Thursday 18 February 2010

Man City (h) Tuesday 16th February - AAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH




There are certain footballing fantasies that every fan at some point harbors. I'm a big fan of such fantasies and I actually referred to 'the mythical 95th minute lob' in my first blog entry. Here I outlined the reasons why I keep going to football, namely that for all the boredom and disappointment you experience at times, you hang in there for that one rare fleeting moment of unpredictable magic that makes it all suddenly seem worthwhile. These moments are few and far between.

The last major one for us Potters was the play off semi final against Cardiff several years ago. There, at a volatile Ninian Park, an equalising goal in the dieing moments of normal time and then another at the end of extra time saw us miraculously overcome the Bluebirds and ensured the name Souleymane Oulare was etched into Stoke City folklore forever.

In recent memory, obviously the promotion clincher against Leicester comes close, but it was not ultimately that dramatic come the last game of the season. I'd say the last minute leveller against Villa at Villa park last season was pretty special, and certainly ranks up there with the most memorable of matches in recent seasons. (I think there's something incredible about last minute goals that makes any result much more dramatic. The last-ditch element just gives any draw or victory an extra edge.)


On Tuesday night, the 16th of February, 2010, a true mini footballing fantasy almost came to pass. The ingredients were all there. Not only was it a 95th minute winner, it was also scored by a defiant 10 men who had battled against the odds and looked to have snatched a memorable victory.

This is Roy of the Rovers football. This is the type of magic that happens every 5 or 6 years, maybe more. This would have been one of the greatest mentals the Britannia has ever seen.


But Alan Wiley snatched it all away from us. He robbed us off our mental. Alan Wiley destroyed my footballing fantasy.


A Man City supporting friend of mine conceded that we were a hard side to play against, but also asked me "how can you watch that every week?" His point is a common one in my experience with supporters of other clubs. They see the scrappy games and the at times 'direct' approach, and think every week is a boring snorefest with no excitement whatsoever. For me, such criticisms are valid but missing the point entirely. I have always been of the train of thought that it's the results that matter, and not so much the style with which we obtain them. I know this is a contentious point with some, but there we go.


In other words, I can always overlook the occasional (and it is only occasional, we do genuinely play some nice football in some games) bland and unimaginative football. We accept the long balls and the throw-ins, because we all know that they are effective and get results. It's the goals and victories we tend to remember, not the flowing moves, or indeed the long throws that lead to them.



The reason we can watch TP's style of football every week, is that every now and then, it can produce amazing results, and big shocks, that we never could achieve by trying to 'out play' the opposition. Alan Wiley robbed us off a big pay off, the kind of evening where all the disappointments and boredom that we have suffered in our years supporting Stoke, are forgotten about and it all somehow seems worth it.



I know this is slightly melodramatic, as it was only a disallowed goal in a generic league game, but it's the denied drama that has angered me so. A draw at home to Man City, when we've played half an hour with ten men, is not to be scoffed at. This is a decent result....in theory. Having been there at the Brit however, and seeing how hard the lads worked, it leaves a severely bitter taste that their endeavours were not adequately rewarded.


The whole team rose to the challenge and can count themselves proud of their efforts. The sight of Dean Whitehead, covering at right back, surging forward pass 3 City defenders, with 90 minutes played, a third of that time with a man down, was a joy to behold.





The rest of the game pales in significance really compared to this one crucial twist. Looking back it reads like a catalogue of contentious refereeing decisions from Mr Wiley. First he misses Patrick Viera kick Glen Whelan in 'the midriff ' (as football commentators always call it). Then, when Viera is tussling with Whitehead and seemingly clocks him round the head, the ref blows up, gives a free kick and books the Frenchmen. Surely it's either accidental and to be ignored, or he has raised his hands and its a red?


Then of course there was the sending off. Faye failed to deal with a searching ball for Adebayor and let it go over his head in the hope he would out pace and out muscle the big City forward. Unfortunately for Abdoulaye, he was out fought by Adebayor and found himself falling behind the pacey striker. His resultant challenge was clumsy but on first viewing, he appeared to get the ball. Wiley initially waved the City claim away, but his linesman flagged for the foul. After a brief discussion, Wiley adjudged Faye to be the last man and had no choice therefore but to send him off.

Tone was very honest about this and stated he had no complaints about the sending off. For me, I think Faye got some of the ball and Collins would have got over to cover, so I think the red was a little harsh, but who am I to dispute this with Tone. If he's happy with it, I'll let it go.


Mr Wiley also waved away a strong penalty claim from Ricardo midway through the second half. He appeared to be clattered by a pair of City defenders, right in front of the linesman as well. However the officials saw nothing wrong and allowed play to go on.


Then, there was THAT goal. A goal that every pundit, presenter and player, as well as anyone I have spoken to about the game, has said was a legitimate goal.




Alan Wiley. You inept Buffoon. He decided that Ryan Shawcross fouled Shay Given when the two went up for Rory's throw. If you watch the clip of this incident, this claim seems ridiculous. Ryan never even looks at Shay, keeps his eyes on the ball and his arms at his side. He simply jumps before Given and rises higher. A perfectly good goal. Ryan claims the ref said to him after the game words to the effect of "you can't challenge the keeper in the six yard box". While this claim is ridiculous in the first place, it's also plainly not what happened. Given ran into Ryan if anything!



It was a solid performance up to Faye's sending off. We weren't creating much, but we were containing Man City's threat and Fuller was a handful as ever. Glen's goal gave us all hope and it was about time he got one on target after a couple of John Gayle-esque balloon's over the bar. When he smacked his shot into the bottom corner around the 70th minute mark, many of us no doubt drifted back to the same game last season where we went down to ten men and held on for a win. Alas it wasn't to be repeated tonight. Man City's equaliser was a scrappy affair that it looks like Sorenson could have dealt with much better. They had a lot of pressure but very few chances.


On this performance, the Manc's need to seriously up their game if they want to make the Champions League. They lacked any cutting edge going forward and struggled to deal with Stokes physical presence.



The FA cup replay is on the horizon and I don't doubt that a packed Brit will be roaring the lads on with more passion even than normal. Revenge will be sweet.



As for Mr Wiley, I imagine he's going to dread any return to Stoke-on-Trent, as we Stokies have long memories, just ask Rob Styles (Two ridiculous red cards against Gillingham in the play offs.....I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN YOU STYLES).

I'm sure i'll let this go in time, but for now, i'll simply say this...You owe me one bona fide Roy of the Rovers football fantasy Alan Wiley!!!! You owe me!

1 comment:

  1. Another piece of soccer-blogging genius from Mr Keeling. It almost makes me want to go to a 'stadium' and watch a 'match-up'...almost.
    Goons.

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